


First Christmas

by mrsbertucci



Series: Her Savior [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, First Christmas, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 04:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9106621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsbertucci/pseuds/mrsbertucci
Summary: Here is a look at John and Rose's first Christmas as a married couple.  Part of my story Her Savior.





	

First Christmas

  

Rose Noble nee Tyler sat in her living room. It was dark except for the glow of the fairy lights on the Christmas tree, bathing her in an ethereal light. Her husband, John, was upstairs wishing their children good night. Rose had needed a moment to herself, so she'd stayed behind after kissing Chloe, Tim, and Jenny good night. 

Huddled up in the corner of the couch with an old shoebox on her lap, Rose studied one of the photographs in her hands: their family Christmas card.

She had hired a professional photographer to take family portraits shortly after the wedding and John had picked 'their gazebo' for the pictures. John was dressed in his classic, brown pinstripes and he had gone so far as to have a matching suit done for Tim. Tim, who looked up to his father, had been ecstatic about it. Rose had managed to find three aubergine sundresses for her and the girls, all similarly styled, at a specialty boutique 

The picture was beautiful. _You might be a little biased, Tyler._ John and Rose sat next to each other with Chloe on their laps, Tim was behind Rose with his hands on her shoulders, and Jenny posed the same way behind John. None of the Nobles were _just_ smiling... They were _beaming!_ Anyone could look at this photo and see what a happy family they were. 

She set the Christmas card down and gazed at the other picture in her hand. On the glossy, rectangular paper was an image Rose would never forget. Eight-year-old Rose and her mum were sitting in front of their Christmas tree. The tree was one of those twelve inch tall ones with one string of colored lights wrapped around it. Her mum joked that you could probably see their tree from space. All the ornaments had been handmade by the two of them and Mickey from spare bits and bobs found around the flat. 

Mickey had taken the picture at Jackie's insistence. Rose had loved that tree and every Christmas spent with her mum. She'd always understood they hadn't had much, but that fact had never bothered her, and with her mum gone, she treasured the memories even more. Tears silently dropped into her lap. She heard John clomping his way down the stairs and hurriedly wiped the moisture away. She heard his voice before he appeared. 

"I don't know why I bother. They _always_ fall asleep before I finish reading." He entered the living room and his affectionate exasperation with the kids morphed into concern. "What's wrong, love?" 

She shook her head as he sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. "It's nothing." 

He put a slender finger beneath her chin and nudged her to meet his gaze. He studied her face. "You're crying. That's not nothing." 

Rose reached up and rubbed between his eyebrows to soothe out the worry lines. "'M just missin' my mum. I wish she could be here. The last time she saw me, my life was a mess." She stopped as a sob built up in her throat. "An'... I just, I just want her t-t-t-to see... how _happy_ I am!" 

Rose dissolved into a sobbing puddle in her husband's arms. He rocked her as she cried, murmuring soothing words of love into her hair. She tried to control her tears. Her heart ached for her mum, but John and the kids made the ache smaller. She was part of a whole family: Mum, Dad, three kids. They were just missing the obligatory pet. 

Chloe had come out of her shell so much since they'd met the Nobles. She laughed, played, and studied the stars. Rose couldn't recount the last time Chloe had had a nightmare! Tim still didn't make friends easily, but he had Chloe, and Rose was confident, in time, there was going to be a mini-John wandering around and his social awkwardness would change. Jenny had blossomed into such a beautiful, young woman. Now a member of the talented theatre club at school, she had overcome her shyness and had blown everyone away with her acting and vocal skills. Rose had been nervous about being able to be a good mum to Jenny since she was just ten years older than the teenager, but it was a role that she had fallen into effortlessly. 

As for the missing pet? Maybe she'd start small and get them a fish. 

Rose couldn't stop the giggle from escaping and, before long, she was full out laughing. She pulled back and was met with John's concerned face. Slowly, her laughter faded. He cupped her face delicately in his hands. 

"Are you alright, love?" 

"I'm more alright now than I've ever been." She pressed a chaste kiss to her husband's lips. "Can I show you something?" 

He smiled softly at her and brought his hands from her face. He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "Of course." 

Rose shifted to where she was leaning more comfortably into his side and reached over to grab the shoebox. "When Mickey came to pick up Tony the other day he brought this to me. Apparently, I'd forgotten it when I moved out of their house." 

As she uncovered the box, John leaned away from her momentarily to turn on the small lamp. Under the soft light, he could see that the box was full of pictures. 

"What's all this then?" Reaching with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Rose, he snatched up a stack of photos. 

"Let's see." Rose looked at the picture John currently had in his hand. It was one of a young, light brown haired Rose in a pink leotard, wearing a bronze medal around her neck. Rose could see now how much Chloe took after her (and, boy, was she glad about that). "Oh! That's when I won the bronze at my gymnastics competition. Mum said I was so happy that I wore the medal when I went to sleep that night." 

"Gymnastics, eh?" 

"Out of the gutter, John Noble!" 

The pair went through the entire shoebox with Rose telling John the stories behind the pictures. After an hour and a half, she closed the lid of the box and sighed. "Guess we should get to bed. We got a busy day tomorrow." 

"Yeah, I guess." 

Rose made to stand up, but John pulled her down onto his lap. "You daftie!"

"That's me!" He gave her the boyish smile that she loved so much. "Thank you, Rose, for sharing this with me. I feel like I learned a bit more about you tonight." 

She pressed her face against his neck to hide her blush and mumbled, "Welcome." 

He kissed her shoulder. "C'mon." 

They made their way upstairs, hand-in-hand, but Rose stopped at the top of the stairs. "I know we have a busy day tomorrow and all, but... Could we stop and leave my mum some flowers? It's been a while and..." 

John covered her lips with his fingertips. "Anytime, love. It doesn't matter how busy we are. We will _always_ make time for your mum." 

Her heart swelled in her chest with love for this man. She grasped his wrist to pull his fingers away from her mouth. "I love you, my Doctor." 

"I love you, too, Rose Tyler." John had long since given up trying to say anything other than her maiden name. He'd told her that he loved saying it too much. "Now, I have it on good authority that you are on the 'nice' list this year." 

She twined her arms around his neck and gave him her tongue-touched smile. "Yeah? And do I get a present?" 

"There _may_ be some mistletoe tied to the headboard." 

"You're that sure of yourself, are you?" 

"I'm that sure of _us_."

 

By morning, John declared Rose to be on _his_ naughty list.


End file.
